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Engineering firm urges spraying, mapping and targeted tree removal for Dallas County drainage ditches
Summary
Agravia told the Dallas County Board of Supervisors it found 14 open-ditch drainage districts totaling about 35 miles, recommended a three‑year tree-only spraying rotation to prevent damage, proposed a $20,000 GIS digitizing project, and flagged a handful of districts for prioritized tree removal.
Tyler Buan of Agravia told the Dallas County Board of Supervisors on June 23 that an inventory of the county’s open drainage ditches found 14 districts totaling roughly 35 miles, with trees, shrubs and root intrusion creating maintenance and erosion risks.
Agravia’s presentation urged three principal steps: establish a county-wide, tree-only spraying program on a three-year rotation to halt vegetation growth; complete a GIS digitizing project to map tiles and ditch lines so contractors and residents can locate infrastructure; and follow with targeted tree removal in public right-of-way areas (for example bike trails and roadside ditches) where roots threaten buried tiles and bulkhead outlets. Buan said about 18 districts include bulkhead outlet structures where root damage to concrete and pipe could become expensive to repair.
The firm estimated the GIS digitizing work to be roughly $20,000 in total — about $200–$300 per district when split across all districts — and said contractors can produce more accurate spray or removal bids when they can view drone footage and mapped ditch layers. Buan identified DD10, a ditch he estimated at about four miles, and DD19 as among the most heavily encroached by trees; he recommended those as early priorities if the board wants to sequence work by need and cost.
Board members asked about homeowner impacts, cost allocation, and how to proceed on districts that cross private property. Agravia recommended public hearings and landowner outreach before any tree-removal projects that could affect private property; the firm said removal work should focus first on public stretches (bike trails, roadsides) to limit disputes. The firm also said some ditches such as the Beaver Creek example (DD8) are effectively forested and would be impractical to restore without substantial cost, and might be left alone unless landowners request action.
The board did not take a final vote on funding; supervisors asked staff to bring back the drainage-district item for further consideration and discussion next week with cost breakdowns and possible bid-package options.
